Mudzuri expresses doubt over Chamisa

MDC-T deputy president Engineer Elias Mudzuri has cast aspersions on the presidency of Advocate Nelson Chamisa saying members “followed the wind” in choosing him as the late founding party president Morgan Tsvangirai’s successor.

In an interview, Eng Mudzuri, who was noncommittal on his support for Adv Chamisa’s presidential bid in the forthcoming elections, said it was regrettable that the party had split following the sacking of Dr Thokozani Khupe and her allies.

Eng Mudzuri, one of the three MDC-T deputies who were angling to succeed Mr Tsvangirai but fell into line as it became clear that Adv Chamisa had successfully grabbed power, said the late MDC-T president had wished for the party to remain united.

He said he was not sure if the party was taking the correct path following its recent split.

“There is a lot I can say but he (Adv Chamisa) is already there and we have to find a way of working with him and to see whether we can deliver the political goods. Opinions sometimes don’t matter with public office, it is the public that judges people,” Eng Mudzuri said.

“The only thing that I can say is that he has reached 40 years. That’s the age you are allowed to become a president. And we have to work to find if we can get there.”

Eng Mudzuri, however, said Adv Chamisa’s fate would be determined by the outcome of the forthcoming elections.

“If we don’t (win elections) that will be unfortunate but people would have seen that maybe... That is when people may revise what they would have done. People never revise when they are in a certain mode,” he said.

“There is a saying by Confucius — a great Chinese philosopher — which says ‘when the wind blows all the grass bends towards the wind’. I mean the grass can only rise when the wind has stopped. But if the grass goes against the wind, it will break.”

Eng Mudzuri said the party should have tried to bring Dr Khupe and her allies back into the party.

“My personal thinking is that we should have been together. That was the thinking of our leader (Tsvangirai). We should have tried to be accommodative. He (Tsvangirai) told me to try to work to unite the party.

“My comment might be more unconstructive than being constructive. We should have found a way of having the MDC family together. I still believe that while Khupe is away, we should talk to her and find a way of coming together . . . that is my thinking. If we are to get anywhere we should work together, we should be able to talk to each other,” he said. — @ nqotshili

operating at Chiadzwa.

This was after Mr Mliswa had said companies mining diamonds complained that the police were brutal and they lost their gems which were in stock when the law enforcement agencies moved in.

Retired police commissioner Mekia Tanyanyiwa said he was responsible for the deployment of the police and had briefed DCG Matibiri as his immediate boss upon being instructed by former Comm Gen Chihuri.

DCG Matibiri eventually admitted that he had been briefed by Comm Tanyanyiwa, but said it was odd for him to be apprised by his subordinate as he expected Comm Gen Chihuri to tell him.

Comm Tanyanyiwa said he, together with Commissioners Grace Ndebele, were appointed verbally to sit in Gye Nyame.

Earlier on, one of Gye Nyame directors, Mr Itai Munyeza, said he was forced to surrender keys to the vaults containing diamonds by armed police.

Mr Munyeza said he did not know what became of the stockpiled diamonds.

Other former Cabinet Ministers who attended yesterday hearing were Mr Walter Chidhakwa, Dydmus Mutasa and Dr Sydney Sekeramayi.